Playpen



c. J. KENNEY Nov. 1, 1960 PLAYPEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 18, 1956 INVENTOR! CHARLES J. KEIVIVE) Nov. 1, 1960 Filed Dec. 18, 1956 c; J. KENNEY PLAYPEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.'-

6HARLE$ J.KEN/V.EY

- United States Patent PLAYPEN I Charles J. Kenney, 30 Pennsylvania Ave., Niantic, Conn.

Filed Dec. 18, 1956, Ser. No. 629,185

I 1 Claim. (Cl. 5-99 This invention relates to a playpen and more particularly to a collapsible playpen which has been constructed principally of fabric and'sticks, the sticks and fabric mutually supporting eachother to form a rectangularly shaped playpen.

Collapsible playpens of themselves are not new. All known playpens are, however, subject to a number of disadvantages. Principal among these is the inability to collapse the playpen conveniently into a vary small lightweight package which can easily be carried around by a mother. Further, it is many times difficult to provide an adequately rigid support for the playpen when it is erected. Still further, known collapsible playpens are somewhat complex in their structural details and as a result cannot be purchased inexpensively.

The present invention is designed to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. Its construction is the essence of simplicity and'it is designated to provide a quite rigid construction which will withstand the rigors of an active child.

The essential parts of the construction are an upper strip of fabric having downwardly directed pockets, a lower strip of fabric having upwardly directed pockets, stakes inserted in the pockets and extending between the two strips, and bracing means intermediate the two strips extending from corner to corner around the playpen. Additionally, the fabric bottom is connected to the lower strip in a manner to be described. Additionally, a sun shade can be mounted to the four corner posts. The latter two elements perform not only the functions of providing a clean floor and a shade against the sun, but additionally add to the structural rigidity of the playpen.

The principal elements of the playpen can be rolled up and inserted in a cylindrical bag approximately seven inches in diameter and twenty-seven inches long. The complete unit is lightweight, weighing about nine pounds, and can easily be transported from place to place and erected in about one minute.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a playpen which is so completely collapsible that it can conveniently be put in a small bag for convenience in carrying.

It is another object of the invention to provide a collapsible playpen having as its essential elements an upper fabric with downwardly directed pockets, a lower fabric strip with upwardly directed pockets, stakes inserted in the pockets and braces extending from corner post to corner post running parallel to and intermediate the upper and lower fabric strips.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a playpen having a sun shade mounted on the corner posts and a bottom fabric piece, both of said members contributing to the structural rigidity of the playpen.

Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible playpen as described above in which the braces are hinged to the corner posts and are provided with length adjusting means to compensate for stretching of the fabric.

Patented Nov. 1, 1960 These and other objects will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a playpen constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view with parts cut away to show the playpen in collapsed condition disposed in a carrying bag, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, showing the details of the various: components.

The playpen consists of an upper fabric strip 10, a lower fabric strip 12 and pockets 14 formed in each of the strips by stitching. Stakes 16 are inserted in opposite pockets of the upper and lower strips in such a manner that the strips and stakes form a mutual support for each other. Four corner posts 18 are fastened by straps 19 to the upper and lower fabric strips and have their upper ends exposed above the fabric strip. The straps 19 are stapled at 21 to the corner posts, permitting some slack to enable the posts 18 to adjust evenly when the playpen is erected.

Hinged to each corner post is an adjustable section of a horizontal brace 20 and the non-adjustable section 22 of the horizontal brace. The pivot point of the braces is on the upper portion of each corner post 18 andis provided by hinges 24. A strip 26 is connected across adjacent ends of bracing members 20 and 22 at each corner of the playpen. The diagonal strip 26 has a bracing function and serves to maintain the sides of the playpen at right angles to each other.

Brace 20 has an adjusting screw 28 which engages the end 30 of the non-adjustable bracing section 22. By rotating screw 28, the effective length of bracing section 20 can be extended so as to compensate for stretching in the upper and lower fabric strips.

When the bracing sections 20 and 22 are located in abutting relationship as shown in Fig. 3, a sleeve 32 is slid over the abutting joint and maintained in that position by flexible spring stops 34 and 36.

The details of the fabric strip construction are best shown in Fig. 3. The strip consists of a laminate of an outer bias cut fabric 38 and an inner straight cut fabric 40 joined together by an adhesive. The thus formed laminate is folded over a cord 42 to add additional strength to the strips. The lower fabric strip 12 is formed in a Similar manner.

A canvas floor 44 is attached to the bottom strip 12. It is preferred that this floor be permanently sewed to two lower strips on opposite sides of the playpen. The other two sides fasten to the lower strips by snap fasteners. This arrangement facilitates the disassembling and packing operation. The use of the floor piece in this manner serves as an additional brace to maintain the playpen in its rectangular position.

A sun shade 46 is mounted on top of the four corner posts 18 by rods 48 inserted in recesses 50 in the upper end of each post. Each rod 48 is hinged at 51 to a horizontal rod 52 which extends diagonally inward toward the center of the shade 46. A pocket 54 is formed in the top of the sun shade to receive each rod 52.

A side curtain 56 is attached to one edge of the sun shade 46. The side curtain is normally supported at the top of the sun shade by straps 58 which can be unsnapped to permit the shade to drop downwardly any suitable distance. Preferably the curtain should be long enough to cover the whole side of the playpen to completely shield a child from the sun.

As an optional feature of the invention, a platform 60 made of three sections 62, 64, 66, conveniently hinged together, can be used to support the playpen. The feet 68 are hinged at 70 so as to be foldable in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1. This arrangement permits a compact folding of the platform.

In using the playpen the stakes and fabric strips which, in storage are rolled up into a package, are removed from the package and the unit is spread in the general configuration of a playpen. Braces 20 and 22 are swung upwardly into abutting engagement and sleeve 30 is slid over the butt joint. In this condition, the playpen is reasonably rigid and ready for active use. Thus the assembly is exceedingly convenient and the playpen can be used inside or outside.

If used outside on a sunny day, the sun shade is used. When disassembling the sun shade, the vertical rods 48 have been swung around in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 3 to rest on the top surface of the sun shade. When assembling these rods are swung back to their vertical position where they are blocked from further movement by the hinge construction. In this position they are inserted in recesses 50 in the top of corner posts 18 and the sun shade is thus erected.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed in the above description, what is deemed to be the most practical and efiicient embodiment of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiment as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts Without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claim.

I claim:

A collapsible playpen comprising in combination, upper and lower elongated fabric strips, said strips having a bias cut fabric, a straight cut fabric laminated with said bias cut fabric, said two fabn'cs being folded over a reinforcing cord, and stitching running perpendicular to the length of said strips to form opposing stake receiving pockets, a plurality of vertical stakes inserted in opposed pockets to space said strips from each other, each of said strips being joined at its ends, four corner posts being joined to said strips, and horizontal bracing rods extending between adjacent corner posts between said upper and lower strips, said bracing being adjustable in length to spread said strips and forming a rect-angularly shaped pen, said bracing rods each comprising a pair of rod sections connected to adjacent corner posts, and sleeve means for forming a rigid joint between said rod sections intermediate said corner posts, fabric corner braces connected to adjacent ends of said rod sections, and a rectangular fabric floor permanently connected on two of its opposing edges to said lower strips and detachably connected on the remaining edges, said fabric floor having its weave diagonal to the lower fabric strips, whereby said fabric strips, said rods, said corner braces and said fabric floor jointly cooperate to form a rigid playpen assembly which can easily collapse to a relatively small transportable package.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 523,337 Ebert July 24, 1894 935,673 Miller Oct. 5, 1909 942,067 Heidt Dec. 7, 1909 1,147,414 Lera July 20, 1915 1,526,726 Townsend Feb. 17, 1925 1,845,791 Gray Feb. 16, 1932 1,950,603 Fischer Mar. 13, 1934 2,097,506 Auty Nov. 2, 1937 2,231,381 Boehmcke Feb. 11, 1941 2,546,588 Ellis Mar. 27, 1951 2,699,794 Potter Jan. 18, 1955 2,710,976 Martensen June 21, 1955 2,772,859 Knorr Dec. 4, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 94,354 Germany Oct. 13, 1897 2,331 Great Britain 1908 481,037 Germany Aug. 12, 1929 974,783 France Oct. 4, 1950 

